New America Policy Papers: 2009

Probably the most distinctive innovation in the Obama Administration's brand of liberalism is its interest in behavioral economics and the power of modest incentives--the “nudge,” as administration official Cass Sunstein calls them--as an instrument of policy.

This presentation compiles research on the healthcare systems, costs and health outcomes of the U.S. and other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).  Data from the OECD, World Health Organization, and other sources are presented in easily-referenced graphs and tables to build a picture of the overall value delivered by the U.S. healthcare system compared to that of other OECD countries.

Congress completed the fiscal year 2010 appropriations process on Dec. 13, 2009, finalizing annual funding for nearly all federal education programs through September 2010 at $63.7 billion, up $1.1 billion from the prior year, excluding economic stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Making sense of the federal education budget and the appropriations process can be a frustrating task for education advocates, state and local policymakers, the media, and the public. The now concluded fiscal year 2010 appropriations process is no exception.

A growing chorus, including President Obama, now believes that a prosperous future for our country will depend on the creation of a save-and-invest economy that will enable all Americans to accumulate savings and assets. While in the short-term, public investment should be expanded in order to stabilize the economy, any long-term plan for sustainable economic growth will have to involve increased household savings over an extended time horizon. One promising approach to that goal is children’s savings accounts (CSAs), which would be established at birth for every American.